So, Cardona’s showing up this week yeah?

[ASYLUMHAUSEN]

I mean….

www.wrestlezone.com/news/1405150-matt-cardona-threatens-to-show-up-on-aew-dynamite-to-confront-mike-santana-santana-responds

[Facetious]

I really hope not. Cardona is amazing on the indies as the big fish in a small pond but never seems to translate well on TV. IF they bring him in, he needs De Lander with him.

[ASYLUMHAUSEN]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxPRymFOjoP

[ASYLUMHAUSEN]

Sept 17, 2023 11:27:00 GMT -5 Facetious said:

I really hope not. Cardona is amazing on the indies as the big fish in a small pond but never seems to translate well on TV. IF they bring him in, he needs De Lander with him.

Totally.

Gotta have his heater with him.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2023 11:27:00 GMT -5 Facetious said:

I really hope not. Cardona is amazing on the indies as the big fish in a small pond but never seems to translate well on TV. IF they bring him in, he needs De Lander with him.

AEW and Cardona is a hard one for me...To me his whole shtick is being a wwe "superstar" in a wrestling world...Maybe it works in AEW still I guess just fear it would come off like an older TNA style gimmick there

[Kalmia]

He showed up in AEW before for a brief spell and didn't stick around. I suspect it'd be the same here. He has too much of a good thing going out on his own, IMO.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

He's a pretty entertaining guy so I don't mind.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

That is not who I would have suspected Santana's first singles opponent to be...

[ASYLUMHAUSEN]

Sept 17, 2023 12:05:09 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

That is not who I would have suspected Santana's first singles opponent to be...

Totally. But it’s good for generating buzz…Santana gets a rub, Cardona gets another years worth of indie promo material. It’s a win win.

For people who haven’t been paying attention; This is not the same Cardona that did that small run on Dynamite. Dude found a gear (starting with beating Gage in GWC) that I don’t think anybody thought he had…he’s dead ass the best heel in the business right now. Full stop. And it’s not even close. Yeah DomDom & Callis get HEEEEAT, but Cardona is on some other shit.

I saw him work this summer at Bash In Beckley 3 (“West Virginia’s Wrestlemania…” - as Cardona himself accurately said in the build to his main event ASW Title Cage Match against Heath [Slater]) and it’s truly a sight to behold…hell, I paid $20 at the gimmick table to get a selfie with him for Insta 😂

Anyway, the highlight of the night was him getting heat on his entrance with my friend Matt (of Matt Mullins and the Bringdowns - the band that does Heath’s entrance music - who had played Heath to the ring live like Motörhead at Mania) by spitting beer on him. He actually talked about this on the podcast he posted after this show. It’s a funny story.

Anyway, I’m all for The Indy God and his Heater making some appearances on AEW.

[Bo Rida]

This would be unwise, he has a big ddt universal title defence next weekend and needs to be 100% if he hopes to avoid being left a bloody mess again. Maki Itoh is ruthless against mid Cardona.

[kingoftheindies]

Sept 17, 2023 11:45:44 GMT -5 @slickrickstyles said:

Sept 17, 2023 11:27:00 GMT -5 Facetious said:

I really hope not. Cardona is amazing on the indies as the big fish in a small pond but never seems to translate well on TV. IF they bring him in, he needs De Lander with him.

AEW and Cardona is a hard one for me...To me his whole shtick is being a wwe "superstar" in a wrestling world...Maybe it works in AEW still I guess just fear it would come off like an older TNA style gimmick there

It would work against the right act. Against Orange Cassidy, Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin, the BCC, the Elite, or MJF (Myers connection) I think so. Against Santana? Don't know.

[daaave]

Do they have time on this GrandSlam show to fit something like this in?

[…Yeah!]

He could just do the inverse of his current thing.

Act like he’s the biggest indy legend - barely able to provide for himself (this one probably wouldn’t get through for optics reasons) gets into brawls with Doink impersonators at the local shopping malls, and he’s a technical wizard capable of beating Danielson or Joe easily.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Sept 17, 2023 12:58:20 GMT -5 daaave said:

Do they have time on this GrandSlam show to fit something like this in?

I don't know about a match. I can see a segment maybe.

[Cyno]

Sept 17, 2023 11:50:20 GMT -5 Kalmia said:

He showed up in AEW before for a brief spell and didn't stick around. I suspect it'd be the same here. He has too much of a good thing going out on his own, IMO.

That was also when he was brought in as "Cody's friend" and hadn't developed the Indy God/King of Deathmatch gimmick yet. He's come a long way since then.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Highly doubt it. Think this is just to hype a Cardona/Santana match at HOG.

[Kalmia]

Sept 17, 2023 14:07:30 GMT -5 Cyno said:

Sept 17, 2023 11:50:20 GMT -5 Kalmia said:

He showed up in AEW before for a brief spell and didn't stick around. I suspect it'd be the same here. He has too much of a good thing going out on his own, IMO.

That was also when he was brought in as "Cody's friend" and hadn't developed the Indy God/King of Deathmatch gimmick yet. He's come a long way since then.

I know. I still wouldn't expect him to stick around though because he's doing better on his own.

[Cyno]

Sept 17, 2023 14:26:47 GMT -5 Kalmia said:

Sept 17, 2023 14:07:30 GMT -5 Cyno said:

That was also when he was brought in as "Cody's friend" and hadn't developed the Indy God/King of Deathmatch gimmick yet. He's come a long way since then.

I know. I still wouldn't expect him to stick around though because he's doing better on his own.

Agreed. AEW likes using "guest stars" like Cardona, Homicide, Erik Redbeard, etc because a lot of the people who are AEW fans are also fans of pre-Khan ROH, Impact, indies, etc. So he could definitely show up and get a mutually beneficial rub without having to commit.

I doubt Cardona signs long-term to any of the big promotions again unless it's very lucrative. I just hope if it's WWE, that he's able to do a version of his Indy God gimmick and not revert back to Zack Ryder.

[Clutchhausen]

Please no.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

Sept 17, 2023 11:27:00 GMT -5 Facetious said:

I really hope not. Cardona is amazing on the indies as the big fish in a small pond but never seems to translate well on TV. IF they bring him in, he needs De Lander with him.

One of the really underrated good things about AEW for me is how it's pulled enough premiere talent who could be top indy stars that it's given room for new acts to thrive, and guys like Cardona to find a niche they might not have if you still had so many of those guys out on the indie scene full time. I think he's got more value on the indie scene doing his thing in the relative absence of so many threats to his spot, than he does being a guy in AEW trying to stand out amid all of that talent. If anything, Cardona's strengths as a guy who really pioneered how social media and the internet can be used to get a wrestler over make him better suited for the indies where that hustle can really elevate him.